I'm Breathing
by dancer with a soul
Summary: John dead, war with the Mayans, things were bordering on insanity and Quinn was balanced at the knife point. What tipped him from just another Men of Mayhem into the President of the Nomad charter. Sometimes in order to become who you must be you must first loose everything you have. Set in 1993 and rated M because this is SOA world.
1. Cherry Pie

**a/n So this story popped to me in the oddest ways. It was a combination of researching for my other story _Maybe this Time_ and watching Batman the Dark Knight. Trust me it all made sense in my head. So this story starts in 1993 right after John Teller died. I haven't seen season five yet as I am living in Central America for the past few months and was a workaholic back home in the States before that. So any information revealed in season 5 is not a part of this story. This will be a shorter story, I'm thinking 4-5 chapters tops. It will be a look at how Rane Quinn went from regular SOA member to Nomad President.**

**All chapter titles are songs that have been ranked on various top strip club anthems. Let me remind all the children back home this story is rated M for a reason. This is Sons of Anarchy.**

Rane Quinn pulled his bike into the parking lot of an out of the way strip joint just out side of Baton Rouge Louisiana. He'd been riding for eight hours today alone same with the past three days. He may only be 39 but his body could feel the toll of the road after a couple hundred miles. Right now all he wanted was some hot pussy and a cheap motel. He figured he'd find at least one girl at a strip joint willing to assist him with both things. At least he could be honest about what he wanted here instead of trying to chat some girl up at a bar. For the thousandth time tonight he was glad he wasn't wearing his kutte. Most clubs and bars wouldn't let colors in and besides sometimes he relished the anonymity. He was proud to be a SON but right now he needed peace. He needed silence. Shit was still too dangerous to travel alone and in colors. That same shit had him travelling all the way across country to get away from it all.

As he walked into the club his nose was instantly assaulted by the smells of cheap perfume, old cigarette smoke and booze. The main stage took up most of the room toward the back wall conveniently fitted with two poles and lined by mirrors. Quinn could see the roped off area that led to the couches where a horny fuck could get a lap dance. Still beer was cheaper here than a regular bar and the women more honest about what they wanted. He slid into the closest bar stool and raised his hand to flag down the bartender. The bartenders back was to him and he could see her ass cased in skin tight blue jeans and when she turned he could see her just-too-perky to be real tits stretching the fabric of her black tank top taunt. Very nice tits if he did say so himself.

"Beer" he told her as she glided down the bar.

"Dark, light, imported, local?" The girl asked her pouted mouth twitching into a smile.

"Double Diamonds." Quinn replied looking around the place. Nicer than most he knew of. At least the dancers looked decent. He was sure more than a few of the girls here were desperate in one-way or another. Some were looking for the next fix, other for the next rent check. He didn't usually have to pay for sex but that doesn't mean he never had. Everyone had to make a living somehow. Hell he was a fucking outlaw his way of earning leaned toward the less than kosher end of things. Besides he felt fairly certain that at least one bitch in here was willing to fuck him in a cheap motel room for no other reason than to scratch her own itch.

"A man who knows his English brew's. Ambers a good color for a beer. Three dollars." The bartender slid an open bottle to him down the bar. "Wanna cold glass?"

"Nah I'm good with the bottle." Quinn said. "Happen to know if any of the girls here are up for a bit of after hours fun." Bartenders generally knew everything in a club especially clubs like this, which girls were prudes who kept their legs slammed shut and which ones were up for more. Which ones were shooting up in the back and which ones walked a straight line. Information was always easy to find. Just depended on whom you bribed with what. Everyone and everything came with a price. Some just cheaper than others. For some the price was enough cash for the next fix, for others it was a few bruised ribs and a nice black eye.

"None of my girls are. At least none that I know of." The bartender replied evenly leaning down on the bar top giving Quinn a spectacular view of her cleavage.

"Your girls?" Quinn asked finally looking from her tits to her face.

"Yep my girls. This is my bar." The chick swept her arms wide open gesturing to the entire bar. "Welcome to Heartland. Where you can buy all your heart desires for the price of a lap dance and a bottle." She ran a rag over the bar top as she glanced around. Screw it; she knew full well that at least half her girls would be turning tricks by the end of the night. Hell if they hooked up in the VIP room she took a cut of the pay but she didn't know who was a cop and who wasn't so she wasn't about to let that info slip easy. Not all strippers hooked but she might as well make a profit on those that did.

"And what's your name doll?" Quinn asked. The bartender was hot. Tight little body and aforementioned big tits with a sweet ass. Tall to. Taller than most women in fact. He'd bet she came to just below his shoulder putting her at about five ten.

"Megan." She said, flagging the second bartender to tend to some other customers. "Nate they don't pay us if they don't drink!" She called down. "Yours?" She asked turning her attention back to him

"They call me Quinn. So how'd a woman end up running a strip joint?" Quinn asked sipping his beer.

"Got sick of dancing on the bar decided to work behind it. Brought the place." Megan said giving the giant in front of her a once over. Huge fucker. Broad shouldered with long hair and a beard. Tattoo's covered most of his left arm and more began the climb to creep down his right. Every bit the rough around the edges that defined her own personal sexual kryptonite.

"Really now and how's it working for you now?" Quinn asked flashing her a slow smile giving her an easy once over.

"Well it allows me certain privileges. Comfortable living being on the high end of those privileges. What do you do?"

"This and that." Quinn replied vaguely.

"Mhmmm… well I hope you find what you're looking for here tonight. You from round here or just passing through."

"Passing through. Plan on being gone by morning." Quinn said, "One more thanks." He held up his empty beer bottle.

Megan turned and grabbed a second beer from the fridge behind the beer. Expertly she opened it and slid it down the bar with one smooth motion.

"Decent place you got." Quinn said as he took a pull from his beer.

"Thanks. I worked hard for it. Excuse me I see someone needs a drink. Good luck finding what you're after." Megan went out from behind the bar and toward one of the tables where she could see two of the dancers were about to get into it. Luckily no one else had noticed it yet. God damn it. She was running a bar not acting as a therapist. Course she couldn't get too pissy at the girls in general. Hell she danced on that same fucking stage for ten years and got in many a catfight. That ust came with the job. Stripping was a business; you tried to have a better product than your competitors. In this business your product was your body. A fact that tended to make many a girl short tempered. Still in the five years she'd owned the bar herself she found she had less and less patience for the shit half the girls in the damn place pulled. Still couldn't get rid of them. She needed the girls to bring in the men who bought her booze.

"Serena, Blanca- cut this shit out. I don't know what it is tonight girls and I don't care. Honey is about to get on stage and you Serena are up next. Pull your shit together and go make some money. Blanca I know your son is turning 12 soon, you wanted to buy him a bike? Well if you don't pull your shit together you're both out for the rest of the week." Megan said in hushed tones while still smiling pleasantly being careful to not draw attention to herself or the dancers. Men didn't spend money to see unhappy women. A catfight? Yes they'd pay for that but dancers with black eyes didn't make money. Plus she didn't have that shit in her club. The minute she let that happen was the minute she let her bar go to hell. It might not be a fancy place- she catered to mostly blue-collar men- but it was a nice place.

The girls walked off still glaring daggers at each other but no longer close to blows. Hell Megan would take what she could get.

"What about you boss, you going to show us how it's done again? Its been awhile since you've been on stage hasn't it?" Megan spun around to see another one of her dancers, Lola asked.

"My dance days are over hon. You know that.I haven't come close to getting back on that stage for about five years." Megan smiled at her. Megan used to dance with the busty Latina in a couple of the clubs down in New Orleans. In the five years Megan owned the club Lola continued to dance for her off and on when she was in the area.

"Bull shit. You and I both know the only time your dance days are over are when you're too old to get hired anymore and your tits sag to your knees. You say it all the time yourself. Plus I know you still keep a bag of shit behind the bar for the really stressful nights. Why not break it out tonight while the damn place is open instead of after hours?" Lola asked hip checking her playfully.

"Nah, I got a bar to run." Megan said shaking her head at her friend.

"No honey you need to pull that stick outta your ass. You haven't gotten laid in weeks. Get your ass on that stage and find some hot guy in here and go get laid. You're allowed to get off with someone else a few times. You used to be fun girl." Lola chastised her.

"Used to be. Key word hon. I'm the boss now." Megan said as she made her way through the sea of men in the bar.

"So? Have fun again. All work and no play makes Megan a very unsatisfied girl. Which makes her grumpy which makes work not fun for the rest of us." Lola insisted as she followed her friend and boss.

"I'm not unsatisfied." Megan insisted smiling at her friend.

"Again I'm calling bullshit girl. Tell me. Whens the last time you got laid. Properly laid I mean. Toes curling, back arched, screaming loudly till you loose your voice laid." Lola demanded.

"It was… well… ok so what?"

"So let loose, let your hair down. Take home that tattooed six-foot plus giant over there with the curly hair. I saw you talking to him at the bar."

"I talk to everyone at the bar. A- I own it. B- I bartend it." Megan pointed out as she walked around the tables collecting glasses and beer bottles. She didn't know why it was so hard to bring glasses up to the bar. She'd asked the girls countless times to do so, yet half the glasses she picked up had lipstick stains around the edge.

"Oh for God's sake girl, give me those I'll cover for you at the bar for five minutes. Do a stage set, relax go home with the first man that catches your eye." Lola encouraged.

"I haven't danced in five years."

"I've seen you practicing your old tricks after hours. Stop bitching and get your ass up there now!" Lola stamped her high heeled foot for emphasis. Several men turned and laughed at the latina. Lola merely tossed them a smile. "Go."

"Alright, alright. I'm going just gotta run to the bathroom to change." Megan hated to admit she did indeed keep a bag stashed behind the bar. Every now and than after a long night at the bar after she sent the other bartenders home and all the dancers were gone she like to put on one of her old outfits and play one of her old songs and dance again. Hell things had started to change in the titty business. Outfits getting skimpier acts getting trashier. People were beginning to forget the teasing part of a strip tease. How to drive the audience to the brink and than hook them into giving you everything they had. Megan may still be young and hot at thirty-three but she could feel the wear on her bones after ten years of dancing and five years of bar owning. Still the idea of letting loose sounded pretty damn good.

She carefully slid into her old outfit. The white men's button up still fit perfectly. She still remembered getting it tailored. Well the first one tailored that is. White men's shirt subtly tailored to tuck in at the waist with a black skirt a tie, hair tucked under a fedora and black heels with leg wraps. It might be a cliché but the naughty secretary was a guys favorite for a reason. She slipped into the DJ's booth to hand him a CD.

"Tracks two and seven please" She told Garry.

"Nice look boss. Maybe you should wear it more often girl." The black man threw at her as he took her CD.

"We'll see about that Garry. Lets see if I still remember how its done first." Megan laughed.

"Get it girl."

Megan slipped out of the booth and back to the stage steps. She tapped Blanca's shoulder, "Hey I'm taking Lola's spot. You'll come on after me, is that alright?"

"What- but boss you never dance. What the hell are you doing?" Blanca demanded.

"Living a little I guess." Megan replied before climbing the stage. With each step she felt the same excitement she used to feel.

_Ricky was a young boy _

_He had a heart of stone_

_Lived nine to five and worked his _

_Fingers to the bone_

_Just barely out of school_

_Came from the edge of town_

_Fought light a switchblade_

_So no one could take him down_

Megan grabbed a chair she'd set by the mirror and dragged it to the front of the stage and threw herself into dancing. She moved fluidly between the chair and the two poles she stationed it between. She felt alive again. Sure she loved running the bar and the life it afforded her but she missed the rush of being on stage again. The strip industry attracted hundreds of types. She decided that she would take the business and make it hers. It took her ten years to do so but once she did she took it for all it was worth. Part of taking it all was making sure others saw her as professional. After all that's what she was.

_She's my cherry pie_

_Cool drink of water such a sweet surprise_

_Tastes so good makes a grown man cry_

_Sweet Cherry Pie_

_Swingin' on the front porch_

_Swingin' on the lawn_

_Swingin' where we want_

'_Cause there aint nobody home_

_Swingin' to the left_

_And swingin' to the right_

_If I think about baseball _

_I'll swing all night_

By the time her second song started Megan had tossed aside her tie, let her hair free of the fedora and unbuttoned her shirt. She teased the men and brought them to the end of "Sniffers Row"-the front seats next to the stage- wrapping her untied tie around their necks before pushing them away, letting them shove bills into her garter and leg wraps. As the chorus of the song came on again she turned to put her face to the mirror and her back to the audience.

_She's my cherry pie_

_Cool drink of water what a sweet surprise_

_Tastes so good makes a grown man cry_

_Sweet Cherry Pie_

While she moved her hips to the rythem of the music she threw the shirt open and off, tossing it to the side. She than slowly began the shimmy out of her skirt. If the scrap of fabric could even really be called a skirt. Now standing in only her thong she moved back to the edge of the stage to let desperate men shove more money at her. God she loved the stage. It wasn't a glamorous job and it was hell on the body but damn she loved it.

She climbed off the stage to go change back to her normal bartending cloths. Before she could get to the ladies room a huge towering man blocked her way.

"Thought you worked behind the bar now a days not on top of it." Megan glanced up at the giant named Quinn.

"A girl's got to keep in practice. Never know when it might come in handy. Times are tough down here." Megan smiled up at him, damn the fucker was tall. She herself stood about five eight in her bare feet, damn close to six feet in her dance heels and the fucker still had her by a head.

"Well how bout you and I find a place more quite and you can tell me bout those hard times?" Quinn asked, bitch was hot and he needed to get laid.

"Better idea, come midnight you and I go somewhere and I help you find what you're looking for." Megan fired back.

"It gonna cost me?" Quinn asked, preferring to be up front.

Megan looked him up and down, "Na I stopped making my money on my back a long time ago. Just don't get so drunk you cant get it up anymore."

"Think I can handle that." Quinn chuckled from deep in his chest, "Gotta phone? Need to make a call."

"Pay phones right outside the door. Need to break for quarters?" Megan asked.

"I'm good. Meet me out front at midnight." Quinn told her. He went out side and grabbed the pay phone off the hook, dialing the long familiar number.

"Hello?" A tired voice came over the line.

"Clay, its Quinn." He answered.

"Where you at tonight?" His new prez asked.

"Just outside Baton Rouge. Stopping for the night here. Planning on pushing longer tomorrow." He said into the phone.

"Take your time brother. Shit's finally calming the fuck down up here. Keep checking in and I'll let you know if your needed."

"Thanks brother, I just need sometime. Fucking shit with the Mayans, John going like that. Think I might need to get out of Cali for a bit separates myself."

"Thinking of creating a Nomad charter. It this shit storms shown us anything we need brothers who are mobile. You think that might work?" Clay asked

"Honestly, I don't know brother. Maybe."

"Think on it. Take care of your head, see your family than get back here. We need you Quinn." Clay told him.

"See you soon brother." Quinn answered.

"See you by the end of the month."

Quinn hung up the phone and ran his hand down his face tiredly. Shit back home was crazy right now. Mayans at war with Sons and now John laying down his god damn bike and dying like that. Quinn knew he wasn't part of the First Nine but fuck, he'd been close to John. Helping him start the Belfast charter, fucking sponsoring Chibbs on nothing more than his Prez's say so. John found Quinn's ass strung out in a fucking San Diego gutter fifteen years earlier and cleaned him up. Gave him a mechanic job and later helped him become a prospect. Quinn had worn his kutte proudly for ten years but Johns death and Clay taking the gavel led Quinn down a road he wasn't sure off. Sure the club had been involved with some less than legal activities but it seemed Clay wanted to take that to another level. Shit didn't matter either way, he'd do what his president said. Not much work in the world for an ex-junkie who dropped out of school his sophomore year. Club shit was his life, it paid his bills and gave him a place to lay down at night. Couldn't change the fact that the club was his world and he loved it. Quinn shook his head telling himself to pull his head out of his ass, he had enough time for a couple more beers before he fucked a bitch into oblivion.

Midnight came and Megan grabbed her bag from behind the bar. She walked over to where Quinn leaned against the bar.

"You ready cowboy?" She asked.

"Are you?" He shot back.

"Follow me."


	2. Looks that Kill

**a/n Big thanks to everyone who has favorited or followed this story. I've updated my profile to show pictures of what I have in mind for how Megan looks. Please read review and enjoy!**

"_Follow me."_

Quinn followed Megan out to the parking lot. The music from the club penetrated from the walls and into the otherwise quiet night air.

"You following or riding with me?" Megan asked as she neared her '81 Mustang Gia.

"Not leaving my bike here sweetheart." Quinn told her.

"Alright than follow my car."

"Could always ride bitch." Quinn suggested.

"Maybe next time. Follow me." Megan said as she climbed in her car and turned the engine over. Megan drove confidently into Baton Rouge pulling into a Super Eight parking lot and into one of the empty spaces. Quinn eased his bike into the space next to her.

"A Super8? What no white picket fence?" Quinn asked as he killed his bike.

"Easier to kick someone out of your bed when you can just leave." Megan said as she climbed out of her car and began walking to the building. She let her stride fall in to a casual swaying walk that allowed her ass to twitch appreciatively. A bubble of excitement began to fill in her stomach it had been months since she'd gotten laid.

"One room please." She politely asked the desk clerk. As the clerk grabbed the registration book to see what rooms were available Quinn came up behind Megan grabbing her hips and pulling her flush against him.

"We have a single queen bed open is that alright?" The board clerk asked. Megan began to slowly roll her hips causing Quinn to groan under his breath.

"That sounds perfect, we'll take it."

"Ok $22.50." The clerk droned.

"Here." Megan started as she began to slap down a credit card.

"No." Quinn's baritone voice came out as he knocked her hand away. "Here." He set two twenty-dollar bills on the counter.

"Big bad man cant let the little woman pay?" Megan joked.

"Nope, my mama raised me to treat a woman nice." Quinn deadpanned.

"Well I hope you forget that lesson tonight." Megan said as she turned her head up to face him.

"Think I can manage that just fine." Quinn told her.

"Room two twenty three, check out is at eleven am. Get to the room please." The clerk sounded board as if he saw the same actions every night. In his defense working the midnight shift at a cheap chain motel meant he probably did.

Quinn's massive hand engulfed the key and he pulled Megan down the hall and toward the stairwell. Once in the stairwell he pushed her up against the wall and kissed her thoroughly. Megan arched into him and returned the kiss, pulling back a bit to nip at his lower lip.

"We promised we'd make it to the room," she panted.

"No we were told to get to the room. I don't remember any promises," Quinn said as his club of a hand came to cup her breasts. He pushed open her cream pleather jacket and let his fingers play a staccato over the smooth service of her cotton tank top, feeling her nipples pebble through the thin fabric of her bra. He was positive she could feel his own growing arousal through his jeans.

"There's beds in hotel rooms, along with door frames." Megan pointed out.

"Fine lets go then." Quinn told her grabbing her by the waist and tossing her over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" Megan demanded laughing. Quinn ignored her until he found the room they'd been assigned. Keeping one hand on Megan's ass he grabbed the key he palmed earlier to unlock the door. Once in the room he tossed Megan down on the bed. Smiling down at her he pulled off his sweater. Following his example Megan pushed her jacket off her shoulders and began to shimmy her tank top over her head. Sitting on the bed clad only in her simple cotton bra she leaned back and motion for Quinn to come join her. He didn't waste any time to comply.

The next morning Megan woke up at ten am to the sound of a shower running. She pushed aside the cheap, scratchy motel blankets and grabbed the thin sheet. Drapping the sheet around her body she walked to the bathroom.

"Room for one more?" She asked.

"Always." Quinn told her. Megan let the sheet drop to the floor and climbed into the shower. She stepped into the warm spray and reached around the giant of a man to grab the flakey motel soap. As she pressed her tits against his chest she could feel him begin to twitch against her hip. She smiled to herself, his height wasn't the only giant thing about him.

Long after the water had run cold the two of them stood side by side in the bathroom toweling off.

"So I never asked where you were headed." Megan said curiously, "Or where you're from."

Quinn looked down at her before answering, "Headed to see my sister in Mobile, came from California."

"Long trip." Megan commented as she walked into the main room to hunt down her cloths, "You got about three hours left?"

"Yeah." Quinn answered her as he followed her.

"Larry's does a great breakfast. Its just down town." Megan told him as she gathered her cloths. Five minutes later she was dressed and on her way out the door.

"Where you headed?" Quinn asked.

"Home, where I don't have to wear a bra and can find clean underwear." Megan said pausing at the door.

"How about you join me for breakfast." He suggested.

A small smile played across Megan's lips. "Alright," she replied, "I'd like that."

"Lets go then."

Four hours later Quinn pulled into the driveway of his sisters place. As he killed his bike a blonde girl- about eight years old- ran out of the house.

"Uncle Rainy! You're here!" She yelled as she ran down the drive.

"Hey Lil Bill, I told you I'd be getting in today." Quinn said as he scooped her up, "Where's your mommy?" The little girls face fell from a happy smile into a pout.

"Mommy feels sick. She's in bed." She said in a sad voice.

"Is she? Lets go check on her." Quinn said as he walked toward the house, careful to keep any worry out of his voice. Quinn walked into the modest one story house. He noticed that all the shades were pulled and the house lay shrouded in darkness. He glanced into the kitchen off the entrance and saw dirty dishes piled up high in the sink. That wasn't like Annie. She kept her house meticulously clean. She embraced what their mother said about cleanliness is next to godliness. Quinn walked into the living room where a Sunday morning cartoon played quietly.

"What'cha watching sweetheart?" he asked as he set Lily down gently.

"Scooby-Doo!" Lily said excitedly yet still keeping her voice down. "Will you watch with me?" She asked.

"Sure honey, I'm just going to go say hi to your mom." Quinn told her.

"Ok but be quiet. She's resting." Lilly told her uncle with all the seriousness a small child can possess.

"I will be, pinky swear." Quinn said while holding out his pinky to the little girl. She hooked her pinky with his and nodded solemnly. Quinn walked though the living room and over to hallway that connected the main part of the house to the two bedrooms.

"Annie?" He called out softly treading gently on the soft-carpeted hall. He pushed open the master bedroom door. Instantly a stale, stank smell filled his noes. He saw a lump laying in the middle of the bed surrounded by pillows and buried under blankets. "Hey baby sis, what's going on hon?" This time he let his worry creepy fully into his voice.

"Hey big guy." The pillowed mountain croaked out. "Lily must be happy you're here."

"What's wrong Annie?" Quinn asked not wasting time with the bullshit.

"Just the flu." Annie moved herself up so she was sitting against the headboard. Her long blonde hair hung in greasy dreads around her face, her skin had paled to the point it held a slight yellow tinge. Quinn could see she'd lost weight, even in the almost dark light he could see how gaunt her cheeks had become.

"Sure, the flu, for how long?" He asked coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Just a few days." Annie said as she glanced away. Quinn knew his sister well enough to know that alone was a for sure sign she was lying to him.

"Bullshit baby sis. There's at least two weeks worth of dishes in the sink and Lil is out there watching cartoons after noon on a Sunday morning, still in her pajamas. Not to mention you look like shit girl. Stop lying and tell me the truth." Quinn sat down at the edge of the bed. He didn't expect to come here to this. He just wanted to clear his head a bit, spend sometime with his baby sis and niece. Annie stared him in the eye as if debating whether or not she could lie to her brother.

"Fuck Rane, its nothing just haven't been feeling all that great lately."

"How long."

"Two weeks, maybe a bit more."

"Shit Annie, have you gone to the doctor?" Quinn demanded running his hand through his hair.

"Ha, like I got the money. I'm a secretary at a legal firm. I can't afford the doctor right now." Annie let out a weak, bitter laugh.

"Call Lily's sitter. We're going today. I'll pay and drive your god damn cage." Quinn told her, "You feel up to showering?"

"No Rane, I'm fine. I swear." Annie tried to protest.

"No your not Annie. We're going today. You don't have to agree. You're so damn weak right now that I could pick you up and get you in the car before you even thought of struggling. We're going girl."

"Rane…" Annie began to protest.

"Stop arguing. We're leaving as soon as the sitter gets here. Remember I know where you keep your address book. Plus the number for the doctor and sitter are on the fridge. I'm going to go call them." Quinn pushed himself up off the bed and walked back to the kitchen. He grabbed the corded phone from off the hook and walked over to the fridge, dialing as he went.

"Hello?" A female voice came over the phone.

"Hi, is Amy there?" Quinn asked.

"Speaking." The voice said.

"Hi Amy, I'm Rane, Annie's brother. She's pretty sick and I need to take her to the doctor. I know its short notice but I could pay double your normal rate." Quinn told her.

"Yeah I can come over today," Amy said. "What time?"

"How about an hour?" Quinn asked her.

"Sure, I'll have my boyfriend drop me off." Amy replied.

"Thanks Amy. We'll see you than." Rane hung up the phone and quickly dialed the doctor's number listed on the fridge.

"Doctor Adams office, Shirley speaking." The secretary's voice came over the phone sounding bright and chipper. Quinn never understood how the broads sounded so damn happy all the time. Annoyed him to no end.

"Hello, I need to make an emergency appointment for Anna Renee Quinn as soon as possible today." He said.

"Ok," The receptionist said Quinn could hear her grabbing the appointment book off the shelf, "Alright Doctor Adams has an opening today at 4pm, its his last appointment. Does that work for Anna?"

"Yeah we can be there." Quinn said. As he went to put the phone back in its cradle he could hear the receptionist saying something more. Frankly he didn't give a damn he had the appointment and to hell with the rest. He turned to walk back down the hallway. "Called Amy, she'll be here in an hour, called the doctor you got an appointment in hour and a half." He told her bluntly.

Annie nodded from her bed. "Thank you Rane."

"You're welcome baby sis. You clean up if you feel up to it. I'll go play with the kid till the sitter gets here." Quinn stayed in the room long enough to see Annie nod before he left again to go find his niece.

"Uncle Rainy!" She called as soon as he walked into the room, "Come and watch Scooby-Doo with me! You promised."

"I did didn't I sweetheart, lets watch some." Quinn sat down on the couch next to Lily, "Hey how do you feel about Amy coming over to play with you for a bit?"

"I like Amy, she's fun. Where are you and Mommy going?" Lily asked.

"I'm going to take your mommy to the Doctor." Quinn told her, he'd never seen the point in trying to lie to children. Clever little bastards they were.

Lily nodded, "I have to go to the doctor to when I'm sick. Will the doctor make Mommy better?"

"I think so kiddo. But lets watch some Scooby-Doo until Amy gets here." Quinn said to distract her.

"Ok. I'm glad you're here Uncle Rainy." Lily said.

"Me too kiddo me too."

Three hours later Quinn was sitting on his sister's porch with a beer in his hand. The doctor's words playing over in his head-

_Might not be anything… want to run further tests…. Can someone stay with you… might be nothing… but we want to be sure… _

Fuck his baby sister really was sick. He thought she'd caught a bug, just a virus that needed some antibiotics, nothing scary, nothing that could really hurt her. Fuck, he couldn't stay with her. He needed to go back to Charming. Besides he wasn't exactly equipt to play Mr. Mom to his niece. He'd have to find someone, maybe a friend of hers. Go from there, after this week though. He could stay for the week. See what the test results were. For now he sat on the porch and drank his beer convincing himself that Annie was fine. After all the Quinn's were a tough breed.

One week later on Saturday afternoon Quinn sat in the doctor's office holding his sister's hand.

"So what's the verdict?" Annie asked forcing herself to ask.

"Well Anna, I'm afraid the tests weren't what we hoped they would be." Doctor Adams said sadly not looking her in the eye instead staring at the file in his hand.

"What is it?" Annie demanded.

"I'm sorry, Anna, its cancer. You have leukemia. Now there's a lot we can do now, things that we couldn't do in the past. We can get you started on chemo therapy, but its not going to be easy." Doctor Adams stated. "The chemo is going to make you pretty sick. Do you have someone that can move in with you?"

"I… I don't know. Maybe someone from church but how do I ask someone to do that?" Annie said.

"I can come stay for bits at a time also." Quinn assured her. Inside his mind was reeling, his baby sister was sick- dying even. How the fuck was he supposed to deal with that. She didn't have a man at home. Hadn't had one ever since her no good piece of shit ex ran off with some fucking whore. Fucker hadn't even seen his own kid in five years. Quinn switched over to autopilot, listening to the doctor explain treatment options and side effects. After the visit he helped Annie back to the car. They drove back to her house in silence for most of the way.

"It's going to be ok Quinn. I'm going to be alright." Annie said, her voice barely quivering.

"I know baby sis, Quinn's are strong stock." Quinn replied forcing himself to keep his own fear and worry out of his voice. Later that night after Lily and Annie had both gone to bed Quinn wandered into the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the cradle. He let it ring as he paced up and down the small space.

"Hello?" His president's voice came over the phone.

"Hey brother its me." Quinn said.

"Hey brother, how's your sister?" Clay asked.

"Not good. You know that Nomad thing you mentioned? I want in. I need to be able to come up here as often as possible." Quinn told him.

"No problem brother, family comes first. I'm calling in the other presidents to come in and take a vote on creating the charter. They'll be here end of the week. You'll be here to?"

"Yeah, I'll leave here day after tomorrow, gotta set something up for my sister first." Quinn said.

"Take your time brother, just get here."

"Alright, see you in a few days."

The next morning Quinn called Mrs. Cobbs, the older lady from Annie's church who'd watch Lily during the day some times. Sixty-five years old and a widow Mrs. Cobbs was more than happy to come stay with Annie for a while. It made her feel useful she said. It wasn't perfect but Quinn decided it was the best he could do for now. If the Nomad charter was created he could start doing jobs for other charters, bringing more money in. Plus Annie had some health insurance to cover treatments from her job at the law firm.

Monday evening Quinn kissed his sisters head and hugged his niece.

"I'll be back as soon as I can hon," he told Annie.

"Don't worry about us we'll be fine." She assured him.

"I got some club stuff to handle, after that I'll be back." He told her.

"Will you just get on your damn bike and leave already. Cant do anything to get rid of you it seems." Annie's smile took any bite out of her words. Quinn smiled back knowing that she was just trying to put him at ease. Quinn hugged each of them one last time before climbing on his bike.

Megan was the only bartender on duty Monday. Monday's were slow days anyway. Most of the girls who worked Friday and Saturday didn't bother coming in, they were to hung over to bother coming for the bread crumbs Monday's brought in. Hell even focused on mellower music bringing about a more relaxed atmosphere to the club. Nine pm brought all of ten customers sipping drink. Still riding the high of the great sex she had a week before Megan sang along to the old rock tune that played from the jukebox. She could feel the slight draft that blew in as the door opened and someone entered the bar.

"I'll be right with ya sugar." Megan said without looking up as she quickly wiped down the far end of the bar.

"Take your time." Quinn said. Megan looked up at the familiar voice and a small smile broke out across her face.

"Well looked what the cat dragged in. What can I get you?" She asked.

"Double diamonds for now." Quinn told her.

"And later?"

"How about another go round?"

**a/n 2 if people want I can add photos of Annie and Lily also. **


	3. Shake and Tumble

**A/N This chapter is a bit shorter than the others but stay with me. Only about two (maybe three) chapters left on this one. I don't know for sure how a new charter would be created, its not a patch over after all, so I went with what I thought woudl be the most realistic. Hope it worked! Quick shout out to everyone who's read/favorited/followed/reviewed. I try to thank everyone personally but if I missed you I'm sorry but no less appreciative. With out further do, please read and review and enjoy chpt three.**

The Redwood club house held a solom atmosphere. Whores sipped booze out in the main room with some members very few speaking. John's death still hung heavy in the air- just one more shit storm piled on top of the Mayan war. Every few seconds eyes would flick to the chapel door where all the Presidents and Vice Presidents sat discussing the future of the club. New York, Belfast, Tacoma, Tucson, Vegas, every fucking charter that could come was holed up in that room. Most of them had brought an extra man or two and those milled out in the main room with Redwood and whores. The charters that couldn't make it sent in their proxy votes the night before.

Quinn came in from the garage office and let his huge frame fall on to a barstool.

"Whiskey." He shot in the general direction of whatever prospect was sitting behind the bar. The prospect sensing the older members dark mood quickly poured the liquor into a glass without a word. Quinn gulped the drink down in one swallow. Normally he didn't drink anything stronger than beer- being drunk was a bit to much of a reminder of his strung out junky days but he'd just gotten off the phone with Mrs. Cobbs. Annie wasn't doing well. Doc said that might happen until the started the treatment in a few days and even after that she might feel like shit for a long time before she started to get better.

_If she got better_.

The damn voice in the back of his head just wouldn't shut the fuck up. He couldn't have another whiskey, he needed a clear head for the result of the vote going on. With out booze to cloud his mind he forced himself to think of something else other than Annie. He couldn't do shit for her or Lily right now so why bother thinking about it. Instead he forced his mind to better memories. One of those being last Monday night. Him and Megan went back to the same motel. He hadn't realized it until she was naked and underneath him how scared he was about Annie. He needed something to make him forget. So he began to pound into her expecting her to protest.

She didn't.

Instead she hooked one leg around him expertly and pushed his right hip with her body. Taking her hint he rolled to his back and looked up at her. She sat there for a moment straddling him, allowing her body to adjust to the new position, the new angle. She slowly raised her bent knees, letting him slide almost all the way out of her before slamming her hips back down against his. Rising back up she repeated the motion several times each time going faster and harder. Quinn had gripped her hips tightly and helped her ride him into oblivion.

"What's got you so angry?" She asked after they were both done.

"What?" Quinn asked confused.

"The only time a man fucks a woman like that is when he's angry." Megan explained. For a moment Quinn didn't say anything and she just rolled to her side, "Well wake me up in a bit and we can try again." They lay in silence for several minutes.

"My sister. She's real sick." Quinn said. Megan hadn't responded but to roll to face him. Not saying anything she put her hand to the side of his face and kissed him deeply.

"Wake me up when you're ready to go." She told him before falling asleep with her arm draped across his chest.

Two hours later he woke her up with his dick already between her legs. The next morning left both of them bruised a bit and more than tired.

Quinn was still smiling about the memory of the second round- Megan on her knee's between his legs sucking him off to the edge before climbing up and impaling herself on him- when the chapel doors burst open.

"Alright." Clay called out as he entered the main room, "Anyone who's not a patched member get the fuck out. We'll call you back in when its time to party." One by one the whores, hang arounds and prospects filed out into the parking lot- a few of the hang arounds dragged coolers of beer behind them. Clay watched them all leave. Once the door was closed Clay turned back to the room smiling "Boy's we got a nomad charter!"

A cheer went up among the gathered Son's. Clay waved his arms down to calm the noise.

"All that's left is filling it. All you brother's are here because you volunteered to go Nomad. To be called at a moments notice and go wherever the club needs. Feel the call of the road. I nominate Rane Quinn as president." Quinn's head popped up shocked. He knew Clay wanted him in the charter never imagined that Clay would nominate him as president. In Nomade charters the president was the only officer, his word was law. Who took what jobs, who got in. Quinn couldn't think of a single thing that would qualify him for that position but apparently Clay trusted him with that.

"Second." A New Mexico member named Go-Go shouted.

"All in favor?" Clay called out. Before Quinn had a chance to say anything a loud chorus of "aye's" rang out in the room.

"Aye's have it!" Clay yelled happily. "Now lets get the booze flowing we're having a party!" The national president walked over to slap Quinn on the back before pulling him into a hug.

"Shit's still crazy, I need a brother I can trust in that seat." Clay whispered to Quinn as the national president embraced him. Quinn nodded his understanding and slapped his brothers back soundly before letting go to be congratulated by the others. The people waiting outside filed back in, someone went the tape player in the corner and popped in a tape from the large, cluttered stack. Soon Metallica blared from the speakers and the booze flowed freely. Quinn nursed a beer while taking the congratulations from his brothers. Once he been pounded on the back for the hundredth time, or so it seemed, he went to go find Clay.

"Brother, I don't know what to say." He said sitting down next to Clay and Johns Old Lady Gemma. She hadn't been seen much lately, not since John's death. Quinn knew Clay stopped by regularly to check on her and he figured something was going on between them, wasn't any of his business either way. People all dealt with grief differently. When Quinn had asked a couple of questions about the possibility of Mayan involvement in John's death Clay all but took his head off right than and there. Suggested he get on the road for awhile and clear his head.

"Don't say anything. Wouldn't trust another man in that spot. Most the guys will stay with their current charters unless we need them. You going to your sisters?" Clay asked.

"Yeah, heading out there tomorrow. You got her number?" Quinn asked. Part of him wanted to stay in the clubhouse and just forget everything for the next few days but the new presidents patch weighed heavy on his chest. He would go wherever and whenever he was called to go, he needed to help his sister as much as possible while he could.

"Yep. Let us know if you need anything and check in every night." Clay told him. "You sticking around for the party?"

"For a bit. Gotta be on the road early tomorrow. It's a thirty-five hour ride to get there. I wanna do it in about four days." Quinn told Clay.

"What route you plan on taking?" Clay asked.

"I-40. Don't want any troubles with the Mayans figure I should stick north if possible." Quinn replied raising his beer to take another drink.

"Ride with out colors. We need you whole." Clay told the giant man clapping him on the back. "Enjoy yourself tonight. You deserve it. Find some pussy and get laid."

"Yes sir. Be back, need another beer." Quinn said pushing himself up from the seat. Speaking of pussy he thought, Baton Rouge isn't all that far from Mobile. If he pushed hard Saturday and Sunday he'd get to Baton Rouge Monday evening. One night in Baton Rouge would let him rest up and he could make the last three-hour push on Tuesday morning. He knew the only reason he wanted to stop there was because of the very real chance he'd be fucking Megan again but he let himself believe that it was just good riding sense. After all the first time he stopped there he didn't even know the bitch existed.

While Quinn traveled though his thoughts at the bar Gemma came over and draped her arm around Clay's shoulders.

"Do you think he bought it?" Gemma asked her lover.

"Yeah. Besides he'll be so busy with his sister he wont bother to think about John anymore." Clay asked.

"Good. Last thing we need is anyone poking in to John's death." Gemma said as her eyes swept across the crowded room, her sharp gaze taking in everything.

"Still not sure if this is needed. He only asked if John could have been attacked by the Mayans." Clay said taking a pull of his beer.

"Say he starts asking those questions around others. Around Piney. Eventually someone would put the pieces together. Lowell running out day's before John died, someone starts asking questions someone else put the pieces together." Gemma said calmly even though it seemed to her they had this discussion more and more often. "This club needs a Nomad charter anyway, might as well kill two birds with one stone."

"Yeah you're right. Best for the club and best for him." Clay said reassured. "Lets enjoy this party baby." He subtly squeezed Gemma's ass.

"Later baby. I gotta go play the grieving widow." Gemma walked away toward Tig and Chibs. The newest SAMCROW member turned to the blonde crow eater hanging on his arm. His scars stood out in stark relief against his skin- newly tanned from the California sun. Clay watched as his woman touched Tig's arm gently looking at him her face tinged with just the right amount of sadness for a newly widowed single mother. Looking at her you'd never know she plotted her husbands murder with nothing more than an eye blink. There was a reason Clay loved that woman. She'd go as far as any patched member for the club she saw as her son's birthright. Clay knew she'd do anything to ensure the survival of that birthright and he loved her for it. The 30 year old queen had a ruthless streak to match his own.

Saturday morning Quinn woke at dawn kicking the redheaded sweetbutt out of his bed at the clubhouse. His bikes saddlebags were already packed with a few changes of cloths for the road along with his gun, his secondary he tucked snuggly into the waist band of his jeans after checking to making sure the safety was on. He wouldn't be much good to anyone if he blew his ass cheeks off by mistake. He grabbed his kutte off of the back of his chair and carefully folded it into his saddlebag. Clay was right, still was too dangerous to ride alone with colors on. By the time the sun began to crest the black top his bike had already started putting the miles behind him.

Two days later he was pushing open the door of Heartlands for the third time. He glanced at the bar and saw Megan working in her usual attire- tight ass jeans and tank top stretched across her rack. God he couldn't wait to bury his face between those. She glanced up toward the door just as she did every time she heard the door open. Looking at him she smiled and held up one finger- the universal sign to wait. Quinn glanced around the bar- unusually crowded for a Monday night. He vaguely remembered seeing a sign for some rodeo show passing through town. Looking around he saw most the men had cowboy hats either on their heads or sitting next to them. The same male bartender from his first night was working again tonight and he saw extra girls working the floor. He sat down at the edge of the bar to wait. Five minutes later she came up to him a Double Diamonds already in her hand.

"Seem to be passing though often now don't you." She remarked to him as she smoothly popped his beer open and set it in front of him.

"Going to be a regular thing. Help take care of my sister and all." He answered.

"I think I can live with that." Megan said smiling.

"Same place?" Quinn asked raising his eyebrows.

"Sure. I'll be over round one or so. We're staying open a bit late on account of all the extra business we have tonight what with the rodeo in town."

"Alright I'll let the front desk know, room'll be under Rane Quinn." He told her.

"You planning on sticking around here for awhile?" Megan asked gesturing to the bar around her.

"You getting on that stage again?" Quinn shot back.

"Not tonight." Megan answered, "But I might be persuaded to do a private show later tonight."

"Promise?" Quinn asked with a smirk.

"If the offer is high enough." Megan told him over her shoulder as she walked down the bar to take care of a very impatient cowboy.

A few hours later Megan pulled her little car into the parking lot of the Super Eight.

"Hi I'm looking for Rane Quinn's room." She said to the desk clerk. Her feet hurt and she could feel the beginnings of a headache building behind her eyes. Still she showed up. She liked Quinn. Not only was he great in bed but they had great conversations during breakfast also. She always said if a man can't hold your attention at the dinner table he wont be able to hold it in bed. Luckily (so far) she hadn't had any problems keeping her attention on Quinn in both cases.

"Room two twenty seven," The same pimpled face, board desk clerk replied.

"Thanks." Megan said. She could feel her step picking up on the way to the room. Great sex seemed like the perfect cure for her aches and pains. She knocked confidently on the door the sound of a TV faintly coming from the other side.

Quinn opened the door wearing just his jeans slung low on his hips. He'd already stashed his gun in the bedside drawer next to the cheap hotel bible. The irony of the book that was supposed to save him next to the weapon that he would use to take a life if the need arose didn't escape him.

"Where's my strip tease?" He asked as she walked into the room.

"What do I get in return?" She teased him.

He grabbed her by the waist lifting her up before pushing her back against the wall, his dick semi-erect pressing into her jean clad pussy.

"This." He told her.

"I think that's a fair trade." She told him leaning her head down to kiss him, her crossed legs behind his back pulling him closer.

"Thought so." His voice rumbled around her lips while his hands explored her ass. Quinn hadn't been with the same woman more than once or twice in a long time. He found he enjoyed the growing knowledge of exactly what made Megan scream and writhe in pleasure underneath him. Even though they were just in a cheap motel and piss poor quality sheets it felt damn good. The next day they had breakfast as usual at the dinner before he pulled back out onto the highway, speeding toward his sisters. Long as the club didn't need him he'd be able to stay in Mobile for awhile and hey Baton Rouge was only three hours away.


	4. She Got Rhythm

**a/n so I know I said originally this story would be four or five chapters long, I'm thinking it will be six or seven now. But never fear I have it all planned out, it's just ending up longer than originally planned. Than you so much for all the reviews and favorites and follows for this story. If I missed thanking you personally I'm very sorry. Either way I hope you enjoy this next installment of I'm Breathing. **

Megan's life soon fell into a casual routine. She bartended most days only really taking Wednesday and Sunday nights off regularly. Sunday she did inventory and books at the club during the day before relaxing with a good book and a glass of wine during the evening. Wednesday a girlfriend might come over or she might go out with another girlfriend for dinner. All and all life was relaxing. She lived outside the city so she was able to separate work from home. Megan enjoyed her life. Contrary to one might believe about being the owner of a strip club her life felt relatively quiet and settled.

For the past three months at least once a week Quinn would stop by. Megan smiled at the thought. They weren't anything, nothing that deserved a label at the least. Just a good time.

_A bit more than that._ Her head whispered to her when she caught herself thinking of him. It was true though. They didn't label anything but it was more than just a good time. She looked forward to his visits. Every time her bar door opened she glanced to see if he was walking through the door. Sometimes he'd call ahead to let her know he was coming into town but she could always expect him at least once a week.

He stayed a night, maybe two at a time. During the day they'd talk of what ever came to mind, skipping over their respective pasts. Bit by bit however, he told her about his niece and sister, bit by bit she told him about her days when she danced on the stage instead of running things behind the bar. It worked well for the both of them. He never demanded anything from her- no promises, no words of love that were just a little to hard for a jaded ex-stripper to say. Not to mention she had spent more than one night on her back making her money when times got tough. After selling the fantasy of love to make your rent check it became hard to say the words even if you meant it. Which she didn't, not yet.

Quinn set up shop at his sisters. Normally he could stay for a week or two on end with out being called by the club, bonus of being president. Not only that but most of them men who patched Nomad stayed with their former charters, doing jobs for what ever charter they crashed with or backing up their brothers close by. Quinn only went out on special jobs or when Annie's treatment needed more money and the once a month meeting the nomads gathered for in the middle of the Utah dessert. Bikes gathered in a circle on a no-bit back road and the brothers would circle and check in. Nomads were paid on a by the job basis. Church for them was to check in, make sure no one needed a bit of help on a job. Mostly they were trackers, hunters, finding someone who hurt the club and deliver them to whatever charter wanted them hunted down. All jobs went through Quinn as did all new members. Nomads didn't need a unanimous vote to patch someone from another charter, just the presidents' word. Most days Quinn received three or more calls at his sisters. He ended up converting half of the guest bedroom into an office of sorts so he could keep better tabs on his men and keep his phone calls more private.

At least once a week he found himself making the ride to Baton Rouge. He rode with out colors, not wanting to draw attention. After the first month Megan brought him to her house, a comfortable two story out in the Louisiana countryside. The master bedroom contained a large queen bed with soft sheets. Soon Megan's house became an oasis for Quinn. Away from Sons, away from Annie being sick, away from everything complicated in his life. Annie seemed to be better some days but she'd have to go for chemo again and would look like shit the next day. Mrs. Cobbs still came in every day to help out. Quinn could get Lily dressed and off to school on time, mostly but he couldn't cook and was rubbish with cleaning. Mrs. Cobbs was a godsend, or she would be if Quinn could force himself to believe in a God anymore.

Either way he didn't have to search hard to find reasons to visit Megan's. More and more often he found himself mounting his bike and riding off toward Baton Rouge. If he had a job with another charter he usually swung through Louisiana to get there. Church in the middle of the Utah desert? Might as well leave a day early and spend the night in a warm bed. Quinn didn't label what they had. Didn't want to make her an Old Lady and drag her into his world. Most of that could be traced to him being selfish. He didn't want to share her with his world. She didn't make any demands of him either. She didn't demand he always call before he came- he'd push open the bar door to see her glance up at him with that goddamn half smile playing across her lips as if she had a secret she didn't quite feel like sharing. She didn't demand the answers from him that most women would- was he bedding anyone else (yes), what exactly did he do for work (not really an easy topic), did he think they had a future (he had no idea but he kind of wanted one) or did he care about her (yes). He didn't ask her if she took any man to bed (although he doubted it) or for anything else. What they had was plain and simple and worked for them.

"Lily has a recital coming up next week for her dance class." Quinn said one night, as they lay naked in bed the sheets tangled around them. Megan was the first woman he'd ever really talked to after sex.

"She must be excited." Megan commented. They'd been seeing each other- if you could call it that- for four months now. He'd shown her pictures of his sister and her kid and Megan loved hearing about Lily.

"She is. Don't have a clue in hell what's she's going to wear though." Quinn said running his huge hand over his face. "Don't suppose you know where to find a sugar beet fairy costume off of the top of your head?" Quinn asked half hopefully. Lily had come home the night before from practice to tell him she _needed_ a costume for the recital next week. He called the dance teacher and asked about it and apparently a note had been sent home weeks ago. He didn't have a clue how the note got lost from the door of the dance studio to Annie's cage but some how it had.

"Sugar plum fairy." Megan corrected laughing.

"What?" Quinn asked.

"It's a sugar plum fairy, for the Nutcracker." Megan explained.

"You know ballet?" Quinn asked surprised.

"Not really. Lola wanted to go to the show a few Christmases ago, dragged me along. We saw the Nutcracker and I loved it." Megan shrugged- it had been her first time at the ballet. "I don't suppose you have Lily's sizes off hand?" She asked.

"No, why? Do you know where to find a costume?" Quinn asked hopefully.

"No but I'm pretty handy with a needle and thread." Megan said. "I used to sew most of my dance costumes myself to save money."

"Oh… well she's about three feet… maybe four…" Quinn said lifting his arm off the bed as if to show just how high his small niece was.

"You're going home tomorrow?" Megan asked lifting her head from his chest to look at him.

"Was planning to." Quinn told her.

"Well call me when you get there and I'll tell you the measurements I need and you can just come pick it up before the show." Megan said. She didn't really know why she was offering, but she liked to sew and a costume for a dance recital wouldn't be a huge challenge.

"Really? You could do that?" Quinn asked.

"Sure, shouldn't take more than a day or so." Megan told him. "Of course I'd expect payment." She said draping her leg over his waist.

"Oh really? What kind of payment?" Quinn asked guiding her hips over his until she straddled him.

Megan rolled her hips with a practiced movement, "I'm sure you'll think of something." She said leaning down to kiss him before he rolled her over on to her back.

A few days later Quinn found himself driving Annie's cage with a bouncing eight year old in the back seat. Megan mentioned over the phone the other day that if it wasn't too much trouble he should bring Lily with him so the little girl could try on the costume. That way Megan could fix anything if it was needed. It seemed practical at the time but now that he guided the car carefully onto the highway it seemed like a bigger deal- bringing your niece to see the woman you regularly fucked.

Megan bit nervously at her nails as she waited for Quinn to arrive. It seemed like nothing to mention him bringing Lily with- after all she knew how big a deal a little girls first dance recital was and wanted her costume to fight right. Or at least Megan would know how big of a deal a dance recital would be if she'd ever had one. But she remembered listening to the other girls talk about them when she was in school and about the costumes their mothers made them. Megan felt bad for the little girl she'd never met. From everything Quinn told her his sister was an amazing mother and stilled tried to do everything for her daughter despite being sick. So at the time telling him to bring Lily seemed logical, but now as she waited she wondered if it might be a bigger deal in reality.

After what felt like much longer than three hours of driving Quinn pulled into Megan's drive.

"Now remember to say thank you." Quinn reminded his niece.

"I will Uncle Rane. I'm not little you know." Lily said as she bounced up and down in her seat excited to see her costume. None of the other girls in her class had costumes that were made in Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge was far away from Mobile and sounded a lot fancier. Lily thought she'd be the prettiest fairy ever with Uncle Rane's friend from Baton Rouge making her costume. The eight year old quickly unfastened her seat belt and waited impatiently for Uncle Rane to tell her she could get out of the car. They walked into the pretty tan house. Lilly noticed that Uncle Rane didn't knock. He just walked in. Mommy said the only time you could just walk into someone's house was if it was yours.

"Megs," He called out, "we're here!"

"Coming!" A ladies voice called from a different room. A pretty brown haired lady came into the room holding something white and pink and purple.

"Hi, you must be Lily. I'm Megan." She said happily.

"Hello Ms. Megan." Lily said politely just like her mommy taught her.

"Hey Megs, mind if I use the can?" Quinn asked quickly.

"Yeah sure go ahead." Megan told him.

"Alright, I'll be right back Lil Bill, be good and remember what you're mom said." Quinn began to walk to the bathroom.

"What did your mom say?" Megan asked curiously. She'd never spent much time around children before.

"Mommy said I have to be a nice, polite little girl while I'm here so Uncle Rane will finally grow a pair of balls, stop pussy footing around and bring his lady friend to meet her before bones dry up." Quinn overheard what his niece said and stopped abruptly in case Megan needed help.

"Your mommy said all of that?" Megan asked shocked. Sure that sounded like something her parents might have said to her but they hadn't exactly been gunning for mom and pop of the year award. From what Quinn had told her Annie did her best to be a great mom.

"Well… not exactly. She did tell me to be nice and polite. She said the other stuff to Mrs. Cobbs when she thought I was watching T.V." Lily told Megan.

"What did Mrs. Cobbs say about that?" Megan asked barely holding in a laugh.

"She said men couldn't help being idiots. God made them that way and only God knew why." Lily recited. "Ms. Megan, do you know why God made men stupid?"

The words "because they try to think with two heads" popped into Megan's mind but she figured that wouldn't be the best thing to say to a child.

"I think Mrs. Cobbs is right, only God knows why." Megan didn't much believe in God- if one existed she reckoned he was a bit of an ass anyway, but she figured that wouldn't be the best thing to say to a child either. In Louisiana, with its special blend of Catholic and voodoo traditions on one hand and strict protestant churches on the other a person could get away with flitting from one form of religion to the next. From what Quinn told Megan about Annie she knew the woman kept her child going to Sunday school at a Southern Baptist church. Questioning God in front of the eight year old would be a bad idea.

Quinn listened to the whole exchange until Lily began telling Megan about the details of the up coming recital before heading to the bathroom. When he came back his niece was sitting at the kitchen table her legs kicking the air in front of her and sipping juice.

"Why don't you go try on the costume Lil Bill," Quinn said to the eight-year-old girl.

"OK!" Lily said excitedly. She snatched the offered costume out of Megan's hands before running out of the kitchen. She stopped at the doorway.

"Uh… Ms. Megan, where is your bathroom?" Lily turned and asked.

"Go on up the stairs and it's the first door on your left." Megan told her smiling.

"Umm… What sides my left?" Lily asked half turned out the door.

"The side where your thumb and first finger make an L." Megan told her.

Lily nodded and scampered off to find the bathroom. Reaching the top of the stairs she held up her fingers like her mommy taught her but she wasn't exactly sure which was which. She decided to just guess and hope for the best. She tiptoed quietly over to the first door on the right and opened it softly. Inside sat a small daybed and the walls were painted light blue. She quickly shut the door and went to the other side of the hall. Opening the door she found a bathroom painted light yellow with an old claw foot tub against the far wall. She darted in and shut the door before quickly beginning to change.

"Thanks again for doing this Megs." Quinn said downstairs as they heard first one door slam and then a second.

"It's no problem Quinn, every little girl should have a good time at their dance recital." Megan told him, grabbing two cold cokes out of the fridge.

"Rane." Quinn said abruptly. Megan raised one eyebrow opposed to a spoken question as she poured the cokes into glasses.

"My first name. It's Rane." Quinn said awkwardly gesturing with his hands as Megan set the cokes in front of their respective seats.

"Rane." Megan repeated. She already knew it was his first name, after all she'd been sleeping with him for months and Lily called him Uncle Rane but this was the first time he asked her to call him by it. They quietly sipped their cokes while the waited for Lily to come back down.

"Uncle Rane! Ms. Megan! Its perfect!" Lily called out as she ran down the stairs in the white costume with the pink and purple tutu skirt.

"Let me see." Megan told her walking around the eight-year-old checking to make sure everything looked right.

"What do you think Uncle Rane?" Lily demanded.

"You look like a princess kiddo." He told her beeming.

"I think its perfect Lily, I don't have to change a thing." Megan said smiling proudly at her handy-work.

"Ms. Megan can you come to my dance recital! I want to show my friends the nice lady who made my costume." Lily asked. Megan didn't answer right away not knowing what she should do, she wouldn't mind going but she didn't know if Rane would want her to go. Going to the man your fucking niece's dance recital seemed kind of big.

"Lil, why don't you run back up stairs and change so you don't get your costume dirty." Quinn suggested. After Lily had disappeared he turned to Megan, "Don't feel like you have to go, you can say no." He told her. Part of him wanted her to come with but he knew that it would be a turning point for what ever they were if she did.

"I don't mind going Rane, I'd even like to but are you ok with it?" Megan asked.

"I'm ok with it." Quinn said.

"Ok." Megan said, "It seems kind of big." She told him.

"Yeah it does." Quinn agreed.

"Like we might have to talk about what we are soon big." Megan elaborated.

"Probably." Quinn agreed, he honestly thought it might be time to do that anyway. He wouldn't say he was in love with her yet but he would say he was getting close.

"Ok." Megan said leaving the subject there, she wouldn't say she loved him yet but she would say she could see it happening.

Soon Lily came back into the kitchen. "So can you come Ms. Megan?" She demanded.

"Yes Lily I can come. It's tomorrow right?"

"Yes. Friday at seven o' clock." Lily recited happily.

"You should just ride back with us tonight, I can drive you back here Saturday morning." The words popped out of Quinn's mouth without a second thought. "We can take my bike back." In the past four months Megan had ridden on the back of his bike several times and Quinn knew she loved it.

"Uncle Rane lets you ride on his bike?" Lily asked in awe.

"Sometimes he does." Megan replied, "That sounds like a perfect plan Rane. Just let me back a small bag."

"He must really like you." Lily said, "He never lets me ride his bike. He says only big people can and the person has to be special."

Megan smiled at Lily's words. "I can be ready to go in half an hour." She told Quinn.

"Alright. We'll head out whenever you're ready." Quinn told her. Twenty minutes later all three were loaded into the car and heading off to Mobile.


	5. Spinning Wheel

**A/n I am very sorry about the long delay in posting this. It is a combination of slight writers block on how I wanted this chapter to go and internet problems. Another apology for not getting to repsond to the amazing reviews that have been left for this story. Thank you so much not only to those who have reviewed but to those who have also followed or favorited. You guys rock! This chapter focuses mostly on the family aspect of Quinn, hope you like it! **

Megan couldn't help fidgeting in the front seat of the car as Quinn drove. She was on her way to meet his sister.

Not like that exactly, she told herself again and again. She's just going to see his niece's recital. Which in all honesty didn't sound much better to her. She'd never met a mans family before. Same thing went for bringing a man to meet her family. As silly as it sounded at 33 she'd never been in that type of a relationship with a man. Besides her parent's wouldn't have cared less if she brought the entire football team home as long as she didn't come home knocked up, even than they might not have noticed.

Even though she'd been born at the start of the hippie era her parents were far from the free love types that littered the country. Her dad had been a mean drunk who used the hippie movement to get a better high. Her mama was too worn out from her husband to pay any attention to her daughter. Megan grew up with a roof over her head and a hard knock every now and than to remind her to be grateful for it. From everything Quinn told her about Annie told her that Annie was everything her own parents weren't.

Megan glanced at Quinn, Rane, next to her in the drivers seat. She watched his fingers tap out a steady stacatoo against the wheel. From the tight grip that outlined his knuckles white she could see he was also a bit nervous. For some reason that calmed her. Sure they were re-defining exactly what they were to each other but they were doing it slowly. Megan was just going to the recital of a girl with a sick mother- she would do that for most friends.

_You don't sleep with most friends._ The traitorous voice in the back of her head whispered. She chose to ignore the little voice.

"Ms. Megan what do you do?" Lily asked from the back seat drawing Megan out of her thoughts.

"Well…" Megan stalled not knowing exactly how to answer. She definitely couldn't say she owned a titty bar but she didn't know if she should say she owned a bar in general. She looked back at Rane to see if he would help her.

"Ms. Megan owns a bar." Quinn said rescuing the nervous woman beside him. He glanced in the review mirror to see his niece nodding sagely.

"Mommy says only adults can go in bars." Lily said.

"Your mommy is right." Megan told her.

"Your work can't be very fun with out any kids." Lily told the older woman.

"You'd be surprised, many adults act like kids." Megan winked at the young girl.

"Mommy says that to." Lily commented, "She says that some, lots of men, never grow up."

"Well moms are usually right." Megan assured the girl while looking fondly at the giant of a man next to her. He turned to glare playfully at her. The three passed the rest of the ride moving between comfortable silence to answering curious questions from Lily in the back seat.

It wasn't until the pulled into the drive that Megan began to tense up again. Quinn noticed and reached over to squeeze her hand in a reassuring manner. Megan glanced at their clasped hands for a moment wondering at the sheer domesticity of it. More than anything the action made her more nervous instead of less. Lily unknowingly broke the moment by rushing out of the car calling out to her mother on the front step.

"Mommy! Ms. Megan said she'd come to my show tomorrow! She made me the prettiest dress!" Lilly yelled as she flung herself into the mothers arms hugging her tightly. Her mommy had cancer. Lily knew that cancer meant all the ladies at church whispered quietly over her head while they gave her extra cookies. She also knew cancer was the reason Mrs. Cobbs sometimes stayed with them, especially when Uncle Rane had to go away. Cancer also meant her mommy was sick a lot and could eat or play anymore. Sometimes Mommy couldn't even get out of bed. Either way Lily hugged her mother even tighter than normal now.

"Ms. Megan is here?" Annie asked surprised before looking up at the car to see a tall woman climb out of the front seat. The woman's long brunette hair was pulled back off her face in a pony tail. Annie watched as her brother climbed out of the drivers side of the car.

"We're back sis." He called out to her walking quickly up the drive, Megan trailing behind him. He pulled his sister into a tight hug.

Megan let Rane pass before continuing up the drive. She didn't want to interrupt family time and also she wanted a chance to see the only other woman Rane ever mentioned. He'd showed Megan a photo of Annie and Lily before. One he said had been taken a year before. The woman standing on the porch was a ghost of he woman in the photo. It looked like Annie had lost at least thirty pounds, her cloths barely hung on her skeletal frame. In the photo Annie had beautiful and thick dirty blonde hair now was so thin that Megan imagined that anymore lose would show her skull.

"Hello, I'm Megan." She greeted once she reached the stoop.

"I'm Annie. I'm glad you could come." Annie said studying the woman in front of her carefully.

Pretty smile, she noted while continuing her study, pretty girl she amended after she finished.

"I hope it's alright I did." Megan told her hostess. "Lily asked and I couldn't say no."

"I'm glad she asked you. Come on in," Annie told her gesturing to the house, "Mrs. Cobbs is making something wonderful for dinner. I swear we eat better now than before she came to help."

Mrs. Cobbs had indeed made something amazing for dinner but Megan couldn't help but notice that Annie barely picked at her food. Megan could also see that Rane noticed to. Lily kept up a constant happy chatter about her friends and her school but Megan clearly saw that the little girl kept glancing at her mother every few minutes. Still dinner went well and soon after Annie went to bed exhausted. Megan offered to do the dishes while Rane watched TV with his niece. Around eight o'clock Rane helped Lily to bed before joining Megan in the guest bedroom.

"Thanks for coming." He told her as he sat on the bed beside her.

"I'm glad I came. Your sister is wonderful." Megan said as she set aside the book she brought.

"She likes you." Rane commented off hand, "Lily too. She couldn't stop talking about the costume you made her." When Megan didn't answer right away he turned to look at her only to see her looking up at him, a small smile playing across her lips. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing." Megan said, "It's just different seeing you here. Another side of you, the family man side." She smiled at him, "I like seeing that side."

He leaned down to kiss her thoroughly on the lips. "What about this side?" He asked, rolling so he braced himself on top of her.

"Oh I think I like this side better." Megan answered adjusting herself to wrap her legs around his waist, "Although I think we are both wearing to much cloths for it." Her hands found the waistband of his shirt and she began tugging it over his head.

The next day dawned bright and early. Megan woke with her throat dry and parched around eight am. She pulled on one of Rane's tee shirts as they fell to her knee's and made her way to the kitchen to find water.

"Good morning Ms. Megan." Lily's voice sounded from the living room. Megan wandered in painfully aware she wore nothing underneath her tee shirt. She forgot that a child was in the house not to mention the child's mother.

"Good morning Lily." She said looking around, Lily was still in her night gown and sat on the couch with a cartoon playing on the screen. "How are you?"

"Good, I'm hungry though." Lily answered.

"Does Mrs. Cobbs make breakfast?" Megan asked unsure of what to do.

"Sometimes, when Uncle Rane doesn't. Usually Uncle Rane makes breakfast if I have school but I don't have school today and Mommy told Mrs. Cobbs that Uncle Rane was here so she should take a break. But I think Mommy's sick today." The little girl looked so lost and sad that it broke Megan's heart. This little girl knew her mommy was sick and not getting better but didn't know why.

"Well I'm pretty sure I'm a better cook than Uncle Rane. Why don't we find something to make for breakfast? Do you like pancakes?" Megan asked holding out her hand as an offering.

"Pancakes are my favoriteist." Lily insisted hopping off the couch and taking the out stretched hand.

"Good they're mine too." Megan told her as they walked into the kitchen. Between the two of them they managed to find all of the ingridents needed for pancakes and by the time Quinn came into the kitchen the pair of them stirred the mix covered in flour and giggling. Quinn exchanged a slightly worried glance with Megan when he realized that Annie wasn't there.

_Sick._ Megan mouthed over Lily's head so the child couldn't see. Quinn nodded and quietly slipped from the kitchen to go check on Annie.

"Annie?" He called out quietly when he reached his sisters bedroom. Annie didn't reply but he heard the all to familiar sounds of vomiting coming from the connected bathroom. Quinn walked in to find his sister mid-heave bracing herself against the toilet bowl while trying to hold her hair out of the way with her other hand.

"Hey there," Quinn said softly as he replaced her hand with his own, gently collecting her hair from her face. "Rough morning?"

"Yeah, you could say." Annie rasped out before heaving again. Quinn quietly held his sisters hair as her stomach tried to rid itself of the medicine that worked to save her life. After a few minutes Annie nodded slowly, leaning away from the toilet. Quinn ran some water from the tap into the glass she kept by the sink.

"Rane," Annie said after taking a sip, "I don't want Lily to see me like this. Not today. Could you…" She trailed off looking up at her big brother.

"Yeah I can. Need someone with you?" He asked.

"I don't thin-" Annie was cut off when the water she just swallowed made a violent come back. Quinn immediately went to grab her hair in one giant hand while rubbing her back with the other.

"I'll call Mrs. Cobbs when you're done. She can stay with you during the day. Megan and I will take Lily out." He told her.

"I'm going to that recital. I don't care if I have to bring a bag to puke in the entire time. I'm watching her dance the Nutcracker." Annie said violently.

"Don't doubt you for a second sis." Quinn said. Neither of them commented that the reason Annie would face hell and high water to go tonight was because she might not have another chance to watch her daughter dance the Nutcracker.

Quinn helped Annie back to her bed and left a glass of water where she could reach it. He slipped back into the kitchen where Megan and Lily were finishing up the last few pancakes.

"Those look great Lil Bill, lets eat in the living room and watch Scooby Doo." He said.

"YAY!" The eight year old cried before grabbing her plate and racing off into the other room. Megan raised an eye at Quinn asking silently if Annie was ok.

"She's having a bad day." Quinn answered the silent question. "I'm going to ask Mrs. Cobbs to sit with her today. We'll take Lily somewhere else."

"Alright, do you have her dance teachers number?" Megan asked.

"Yeah, why?" Quinn all but snapped, "Annie says she's still going to the show.

"I know. I'll call her teacher to get a list of everything Lily needs for the show and how her hair needs to be done." Megan said calmly, "I don't want her to feel out of place if she forgets something."

"Oh, thanks." Quinn said awkwardly picking up the phone to call Mrs. Cobbs. Megan walked by before going up and her tiptoes to kiss him.

"There's a plate for you on the counter." She told him before following Lily into the living room.

That evening after dinner Megan helped Lily pull her hair back into the tight bun the girl needed to wear.

"Ms. Megan?" Lily asked.

"Yeah honey."

"Is my mommy coming tonight?" Lily met Megan's eyes in the mirror, demanding an honest answer.

"Yes she is. She told me herself." Megan told the girl truthfully. Annie had started to feel better as the day went on. She even joined them for supper before going back to lie down until the recital.

"Ok." Lily said, "Is she going to get better?" She asked still meeting Megan's eyes.

Megan stopped brushing the little girls hair in surprise.

"I hope so." She told Lily.

"Me too." Lily replied all to seriously. Megan quickly finished the ballerina's bun and rushed Lily to find her shoes and tights before helping the girl into her costume. Soon Megan found herself in the back of Annie's car sitting next to Lily.

"I'm glad you came Ms. Megan."

"Me too Lily, me too."

The recital passed without a single emergency. Annie managed to not get sick once and clapped louder than any other parent in the audience at final curtain. When the young dancers searched the crowds for friends and family Lily was rewarded with a huge bouquet of red roses. Lily had informed Quinn and Megan that the "real" ballerina's always got red roses on the three-hour card ride from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. They took Lily out for ice cream after and the little girl was so excited she didn't even notice her mother didn't eat anything.

Saturday night after Quinn and Megan arrived back in Baton Rouge they lay in bed together, once again the sheets tangled around them.

"We have to try talking before getting naked." Megan commented settling into her usual post sex position curled into Quinn's side.

"Nah, the naked parts fun." Quinn said smiling before turning serious, "Thank you." He said.

"For what?" Megan asked.

"Coming with. I never could have done yesterday without your help." Quinn answered with blunt honesty.

"I'm sure you would have managed fine." Megan tried to brush off the meaning behind his statement. Soon they'd have to talk about what they were to each other but she suspected he wanted to have that conversation as much as she did.

"No I wouldn't have. I don't know how to do a hair bun, I never would have thought of flowers or calling her teacher or what ever the hell that game was you played with her in the park." Coming from any other man the admission might have been seen as weakness. Coming from Quinn it was nothing more than stating the facts.

"Pretend." Megan automatically named the game her and Lily played in the park. They pretended they were super secret spies hiding from the bad guys. Megan had played that game herself as a child whenever she went to the park alone to hide from Dad yelling at Mom.

"Either way, thank you." Quinn said again.

"Anytime." Megan said with feeling.

Sunday morning while Megan made breakfast Quinn used her phone to call the Mother Charter.

"Hey Clay, its me." Quinn said. He called at least once a week to check in even if he hadn't heard anything.

"Quinn good to hear from you. I need you." Clay said into the phone, "New Yorks got a problem. Need you to sniff out a rat."

"Breakfast is ready!" Megan called from the kitchen.

"Fuck," Quinn swore under his breath, "be right there Megs!" He called to the kitchen before turning back to the phone, "Long one?" He asked.

"Might be. I need the best though." Clay told him. For a moment Quinn didn't respond. He'd go, of course he'd go but he didn't want to leave Annie with just Mrs. Cobbs for that long.

"Fuck." He said again, "I'll head out there in a day or so. Got some things to tie up here with Annie."

"Take your time brother. Like I said I need the best on this one."

The two men said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Quinn walked into the kitchen where Megan scooped out eggs from a pan.

"Megs, I got a favor." He said.

"Hit me."

"I got an out of town job, might take awhile…" Quinn trailed off unsure how to ask.

"You want me to check on Annie." Megan said, saving him from asking.

"Yeah."

"Ok, if you arrange Mrs. Cobbs to be there during the week I can do weekends. Lola mentioned wanting to start bartending anyway. I'll do books and inventory Wednesday before we open." Megan said not bothering to look over from the pan.

"Thank you." Quinn said putting all his gratitude into one word. Sooner or later they'd have to talk about what they were and he'd have to tell her what he did but that could wait until after this New York job.

"Don't mention it." Megan said looking up to meet him in the eye. She knew she didn't love this man or his family yet but damn she knew she was close.

Thousands of miles away in California the President of the Mother Charter wandered into the Teller-Morrow office to find his lover buried in paperwork.

"What?" She snapped before looking up, "Sorry baby, thought you were that damn prospect again. Little fucker can't read a tow order yet. Don't patch him in. Stupid is only good for killing."

"A'ight. Think we can manage that." Clay drawled.

"What's on your mind?" Gemma asked seeing something was eating her lover.

"I think Quinn's shacking up with some bitch." Clay said.

"So? Who cares if he's got regular pussy around?" Gemma asked.

"If it's the right pussy it makes a man think, maybe change some of his ideas about things." Clay said pointedly.

"Baby we did what we did for the good of the club you know that." Gemma said.

"Yeah I do, but this pussy might bring questions we buried back to light." Clay commented.

"Watch him than. If we need to we'll figure out what to do about the bitch." Gemma said shrugging it off easily. Clay merely nodded. He walked back into the club house before picking up the phone and dialing *69. After a few rings a voice came over the line.

"Hello Megan Braddocks residence."

"Sorry, wrong number." Clay said before hanging up the phone. He filed the name away to think about later and went back out to do a routine oil change on a minivan.

**A/n2 So those of you reading my other story Maybe This Time already know this but even if you do keep reading. When I'm in the states I'm a college student and work as a stripper. Recently I decided to start a blog about my experience dancing and why I do dance. So if you are interested in that you can find my blog at no the only story. wordpress. com just take out all the spaces. I'm also now on twitter, slowly figuring it out, not _ one _ story again take out all the spaces. Thanks!**


	6. Talk of the Town

**A/n sorry about the delay in uploading this. This chapter gave me some problems but with the help of the Freak Circle, special thanks to Ozzysgirl especially, I managed to work it out. So thank you for reading and if you feel like it leave a review. **

Over a month.

It'd been over a month since Quinn had seen Megan, Annie or Lily. He was fucking done with this shit. The damn rat in New York had taken awhile to sniff out. Turned out to be the SAA. It was a hard vote to take to the table. Asshole not only stole from the club the fucker sold info to rival clubs also. The rat almost got half the charter killed. Shit like that could destroy a charter. Still Quinn had to tell them- charter needed the closure of the vote. The club could make the call themselves or he would have made it for them on Clay's orders. The club made the right choice. A bullet in the back of the head and a shallow grave later he was on his bike and heading back to Mobile. He broke the trip up into two days pushing nine hours a day. It was hell on the body but fuck it he wanted to get home to his family.

He called Annie every day while he was gone. She said she was fine and Megan never said anything otherwise. Still he worried. He missed them too. He'd gotten used to having the same bed every night and the same woman regularly. Hell he'd barely fucked any club whores while in New York. Just a couple of blow jobs really. He tried fucking a couple of the club whores that hung around- where there was a club there were whores- but he was man enough to admit he'd gotten used to having one pussy. He'd gotten used to knowing what buttons of Megan's to push while she knew what buttons of his to push in return.

He killed his bike as he pulled into Annie's drive way. It was late enough that he knew that Annie and Lily would already be sleeping. Still he'd wanted to get home that night and pushed through the last 90 plus miles to get there. He'd be able to crash in Mobile for two days before heading to see Megan Friday.

Quinn quietly slipped into the silent house. He saw Lily's toys still scattered in the living room and a book collapsed open on the edge of the couch. He eased his way though the house stopping at Lily's door to peer though the crack. The little girl started to have nightmares lately and could only sleep with her door cracked open and the hall light on. Right now the beam of light from the hall fell across her face showing Quinn she slept peacefully. Still moving impossibly silently for the giant he was Quinn also went to look into Annie's room. She might not need comfort from nightmares but he still looked in every night. He looked into his sister's room to see her curled in the middle of her big bed. She looked like a child so small and asleep. He could barely make out a small smile on her face. He shut her door happy that at least his sister got to sleep peacefully. He moved to his own bedroom.

Shutting the door behind him Quinn didn't bother to flick the switch to turn on the light even though the room was pitch black. His body while still in-shape protested loudly at the nine-hour days on the bike. Already his muscles began to ache and pull as he slowly stripped himself in the dark. He kept his boxers on just in case Lily decided to burst into his room before he fully woke up in the morning.

It had happened before, eight year olds did not know how to knock.

He rubbed the back of his neck as he made his way to his bed. Luckily his feet moved by memory because he didn't have near enough energy to try turning on any sort of light now. He just wanted to collapse into bed until he could get in to a hot shower the next day. He pulled back the sheets only to be met with a groan and resistance.

"Lily, I'll be there in a second." A voice mumbled from his bed.

"The fuck?" Quinn said forgetting for a moment to keep his voice down.

"Rane?" A familiar and slightly more awake voice came out of the darkness.

"Megan? What the fuck are you doing here?" Quinn asked. It was a Wednesday night. He knew Megan usually spent Wednesday's with her few girlfriends or doing books for the club. On top of that he couldn't think of a reason she'd be in his bed in the middle of the night thinking he was Lily.

"Mrs. Cobbs's great niece is getting married. She went to Boston for the week." Megan said reaching out in the darkness. She made contact with the hard flesh of Quinn's stomach and felt for his hand. Giving it a tug she made room on the bed for him to lie next to her.

"So you're here?" Quinn asked caught between being happy she was there and surprised that she dropped everything to come.

"Said I'd look out for them. Now shush I was sleeping." She said as she curled herself around his large frame.

"Not excited to see me?" He teased her settling into bed. As much as he'd like to bang her now he could feel his own body moving toward sleep.

"Very excited. Wake me up with your dick between my legs." Megan mumbled already falling back to sleep half draped across his body.

"Deal." Quinn said wrapping his arms around her familiar body. A far back, still partially awake part of his brain noted that her being in his bed when he came home felt right. The rest of his brain however pushed those thoughts until after he had a good nights sleep, morning fuck, hot shower and coffee. In that order too. For now Quinn let himself drift off to sleep surrounded by her warm, soft body.

The next morning Quinn woke up in his bed alone. His mind took a minute to remind himself that he was home now and that he hadn't gone to bed alone. He pushed his groaning body out of the bed and grabbed his jeans off the floor and pulled them on before heading out to find his girls. Quinn paused when the thought his girls ran across his head. He hadn't realized that in the last month he'd started including her in his girls. She was though. She stepped up to bat for his sister and niece he knew she came here every weekend.

He wandered out into the kitchen still thinking about the subtle change in how he thought of Megan. Once he reached the kitchen he found Lily and Megan mixing stuff on the counter. Megan added the ingredients while Lily stirred from her perch on a chair carefully pushed against the counter top.

"Uncle Rane!" Lily called seeing him, "Ms. Megan said you were back. But she said you needed sleep and I couldn't see you until you woke up and we're making pancakes cuz they're your favorite. Ms. Megan said I can stay home from school this morning because you've been gone a looooooonnnnnngggg time!"

"I didn't say you could stay home." Megan told the young girl. "I said that your teachers had a work shop so weren't you lucky you got to stay home until after lunch."

"Yeah that." Lily said as she bounced out of her chair to go hug her uncle.

"I think I'm the lucky one. I got all my girls in one house." Quinn said hugging Lily.

"Lily," Megan said, "Why don't you go play outside. I'll call you when breakfast is ready."

"You guys are going to talk about boring grown up stuff aren't you?" Lily asked.

"Yep," Megan told her, "We might even kiss."

"Icky!" Lily exclaimed as she ran to find her shoes so she could go play in the back yard.

"Adult stuff?" Quinn asked one eyebrow raised as Lily ran outside.

"Yep, after this." Megan walked up to Quinn and gave his beard a gentle tug so she could kiss him full on the mouth. He placed his hands on her hips pulling her closer as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

"Missed you." She admitted as they pulled apart slightly.

"You too." He told her truthfully. He'd talked to her almost as much as he talked to Annie while he was gone. "How's Annie?" he asked.

"She's not good Rane. The bad days out number the good days." Megan answered honestly, "Annie didn't want me to tell you but it's getting harder and harder for Mrs. Cobbs also. Mrs. Cobbs is an old woman, it's hard for her to keep up with Lily while helping Annie."

"Fuck!" Quinn swore loudly. He was man enough to admit how much he depended on Mrs. Cobbs for everything.

"Annie has a doctors appointment tomorrow. We weren't sure if you'd be back in time but he wants to talk about a new treatment idea." Megan said still in Quinn's arms.

Suddenly it clicked in Quinn's head. How familiar Lily acted with Megan, how Megan talked about Annie's health with a confident familiarity. How she thought he had been Lily last night as if Lily coming to her in the night was a regular thing. He pushed her back to arm's length and closely studied her face. He could see slight bruised look under her eyes from lack of sleep and that her cloths were unwrinkled and clean. Thinking about it he hadn't seen an overnight back in the room last night or when he woke up this morning. Not to mention there was several times he'd called only to hear the phone ring and ring- she didn't have an answering machine.

"Megs, how often are you here?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked for the first time looking anywhere but in his eyes.

"You said you were only going to come up on weekends. How often have you really been here?" He asked not letting her get out of answering.

"Lately most of the time." Megan answered honestly. Annie had insisted on not telling him while he was away. She said his focus needed to be on the job. What the job was Megan didn't know. He said he traveled for work and paid for his sister's health care. Either way not telling him how often she stayed in Mobile felt silly at the time. Still it was Annie's house and health. Annie made the calls while Quinn was gone. Now that he was back Megan didn't see the point in hiding it.

"Fuck who's running Heartlands?" Quinn asked. He knew how much Megan loved her club. After he told her about his folks kicking him out at sixteen for dropping out she told him how she worked her ass off to buy her club. She spent ten years dancing and turning tricks to get where she was. He knew she didn't take that lightly. He knew she would never let go of her responsibilities.

"Lola's been promoted to manager. She takes care of day to day shit now and I check in every night." Megan answered.

"You're letting a stripper run your bar?" Quinn asked unbelievingly.

"My strip bar yes." Megan said laughing, "Lola has a degree in accounting. She just makes more as a dancer and has more fun. Or she did. Decided she wanted to settle down in one place." Megan explained.

"Is Lola even her real name?"

"Nope it's Marcela." Megan said, "Plus I'm thinking of buying a second club. This is a good way to see if I can handle turning things over. A new club would need more direct over-site."

"Where are you thinking of opening?" Quinn asked surprised. She hadn't mentioned any plans in any of their calls. Not that she needed to, they hadn't had the what they were talk yet. Both knew they had to do so soon but both were more than comfortable putting it off for a while.

"Actually there's a bar here up for sale. Would have to do some remodeling before we could open. Add the poles and a couple of private VIP rooms. Stagger the floor so all the tables have a good view of the stage." Megan said hesitantly. The last month had shown her what Rane meant to her. It also attached her to Annie and Lily. Buying another club was good business. She'd been high in the black for over a year, Mobile had the right demographics for a new strip club with the city being big enough to support it. She wouldn't be majorly cutting into anyone else's business because there was a clear shortage of adult clubs in Mobile.

"And you would personally need to oversee the remodel?" Quinn asked thinking he wouldn't mind having Megan in Mobile on a more permanent basis.

"I could do it from here or from Baton Rouge. Would you want me here to oversee it, plus help out here?" Megan asked.

"Fuck, I'd like that. But are you doing it just for me?" Quinn asked.

"No. Not just for you. Mrs. Cobbs can't do everything that needs to be done here. Annie needs more help that that, help that I can give. I care about them two now, Annie and Lily. You and I, we could make this work if I stayed in Baton Rouge. Hell I'd still need to regularly go to Baton Rouge but I've been thinking of opening a second club for a while now. Just happens I found one here." Megan answered honestly. She hadn't been actively looking for something to bring her to Mobile but when she found it she did look into it.

"Fuck, looks like we're getting domestic." Quinn said running a hand down his face.

"But Rane." Megan said softly.

"Yeah?"

"I gotta know what you do. Annie didn't say anything but… it's something that if I come down here on a semi permanent basis I need to know."

"I know Megs. Lets get breakfast done with and settled. Then you and I'll go for a ride."

"Ok, I'll finish cooking, you go check on Annie." Megan said leaving Quinn's arms and walking back to the counter. "Oh and Rane," Megan said as he went toward the hall, "You still owe me a good fuck."

Quinn laughed as he walked down the hall to check on his sister. He was slightly pissed Annie hadn't told him how bad she'd gotten but he couldn't do anything about that now. He knocked quietly on her door before letting himself in.

"Annie girl?" He softly called as he walked up to the bed.

"Hey Big Bro." the mound of blankets replied.

"How you feeling?" He asked gently settling himself on the side of the mattress.

"Like hell." Came the blunt reply.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Quinn asked.

"Didn't want you distracted on the job. You wouldn't leave until it was done and I wanted you here as soon as possible." Annie replied forcing herself to sit up. Quinn fought the urge to say something. Annie had lost even more weight, weight she didn't have to loose. Her hair was all gone now leaving her pale head shining in the dim bedroom light.

"Shit baby sis, you look like hell." Quinn finally said.

"Already told you I felt like it." Annie gave a weak chuckle. "Megan's been amazing though."

"She mentioned that she'd been here pretty often." Quinn answered.

"Yeah, she has been. She's a great woman. Don't fuck that up." Annie demanded.

"Tryin' not to. You feel up to eating a bit?" Quinn asked.

"Not sure, help me up and we'll find out." Annie gingerly stepped out of bed and began making her way to the door.

"I was serious though, about Megan." She said, "Don't fuck that up."

"I don't plan to sis." Quinn assured her.

Annie looked at him carefully giving his face a slow once over before nodding satisfied. Quinn helped into the kitchen and into the chair at the table.

"Feeling up to pancakes Annie?" Megan asked standing in the kitchen over the stove.

"One plain one, we'll see how it goes." Annie said.

"No problem here you go." Megan said as she put a pancake on one of the plates.

"Annie, you going to be ok on your own for an hour or so?" Quinn asked, "Megan and I are going to go on a ride."

"Good." Annie replied, "I don't need a babysitter. Go have fun. Lily and I will be fine for an hour." Megan called Lily back into the house for breakfast. The four passes a quiet hour eating and listening to Lily tell Quinn about every little thing that had happened since he left. Two hours later the pair mounted the back of Quinn's bike and sped off.

Quinn drove her to a near by park before killing the bike. The pair got off before heading to an abandoned picnic bench.

"I don't really know how to start this." Megan said honestly once they sat down.

"Me neither." Quinn told her.

"Lets start with your work. What do you do?" Megan asked.

"How much do you know about motorcycle clubs?" Quinn asked.

"Not a whole lot." Megan said, "I get some bikers who pass though the bar on occasion. Some wear vests, some don't."

"It's called a kutte." Quinn answered, "You wear one for your club."

"And you're in a club." Megan said.

"Yeah, kuttes at home. Can't ride with it on in this area." Quinn said remembering he'd never ridden with his kutte around her.

"Why not?" Megan asked.

"The club I ride with, that I'm a part of, we don't do legal shit. There's other clubs that do equally illegal shit that don't like us. It's not safe to ride alone and in my kutte."

"What kind of illegal stuff?" Megan asked calmly.

"Cant go there, don't want it to be used against you

"Can I just ask anything with drugs?"

"No we don't touch them."

"Ok, is that it?" Megan asked.

"That's it." Quinn said.

"That's quite a bit." Megan said, "But I figured what ever you did wasn't exactly legal."

"Yeah, how so?" Quinn asked.

"Chemo's not cheap and Annie mentioned you were paying for the treatment. Plus you seem to have a pretty open schedule and some how I don't see you as a 9 to 5 business man." Megan answered.

"And you're ok with that?" Quinn asked.

"As long as you don't make any money on forcing women I don't care. I spent enough time stripping and hooking to have a skewed moral code. I care about you and I'm guessing you care about me or you wouldn't have told me this." Megan answered frankly.

"Yeah," Quinn said. The pair sat in silence for a time. Megan thinking about what he'd told her and Quinn relieved that she hadn't reacted badly.

"Rane?" Megan asked after a minute.

"Yeah?" Quinn raised his head.

"What are we?" Megan asked, "I know neither of us has wanted to talk about that but fuck Rane. You tell me about this and I'm practically moving down here for you and Annie. Shit, I think we have to figure out what the hell we are."

"You're as fucking close to an Old Lady as I've ever gotten. Shit, I don't know what the hell we are. We're kinda just figuring it out as we go."

"Alright. Ok, tell me what ever you can. If there's no clubs out here how'd you end up here?"

"It's a long story." Quinn said settling more comfortably on the bench.

"We got about an hour left." Megan said smiling.

"Yeah we do." Quinn nodded. "Bout nine months ago our president, he was chapter and national president too, died. Got dragged by a semi…"

**As always feel free to check out my blog not the only story . wordpress . com or on twitter notonestory**


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